


Into that good night...

by angylinni



Category: Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-08
Updated: 2013-03-08
Packaged: 2017-12-04 15:18:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 589
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/712203
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angylinni/pseuds/angylinni
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She couldn’t believe he was gone, that she’d never hear his voice again.  Katniss prepares to say goodbye to Haymitch</p>
            </blockquote>





	Into that good night...

**Author's Note:**

  * For [FortuneFaded2012](https://archiveofourown.org/users/FortuneFaded2012/gifts).



> written as a gift for FortuneFaded2012 for rendering her services as a beta for the Spring Fling.

She couldn’t wear black, not for him.  Reaching into the back of her closet, she pulled out one of the dresses that Cinna had made her, back in the days of the victory tour.  Her hand had landed on the green one she wore in District Eight, woven of the softest material she’d ever felt in her life.  It’d been slightly loose on her during the tour, so maybe it would fit now that her body had changed so much from the children.  Her hips were wider, especially after the second, but as she slid the dress over her head and felt the knit cling, she knew that it would be fine. Cinna always did have a masterful hand, making things that she’d never imagined could be done, yet here they were, hanging in the closet of the house she’d closed up twenty years ago when she’d made the choice to follow her heart.

 

Simple black flats and the pearl Peeta had made into a necklace for her were the only adornments she chose, other than her slim gold wedding band, the same one Peeta had slid onto her finger when they’d said their vows in front of Haymitch at the lake. 

 

She couldn’t believe he was gone, that she’d never hear his voice again. They’d lived so much in the past twenty years, and while she’d known in her head that this day would come, it hadn’t really sunk in until she saw him on the table, laid out with his eyes closed, mouth slack.  That’s what had finally gotten her, broken her down to the very essence of who she was.  His mouth had always been in motion, either badgering her and Peeta about something or other, or curled up in a smirk that she knew meant trouble.

 

His body hadn’t looked real, lying there with the sheet pulled up to his chin, the healers working to prepare him for burial.  She’d pulled up the chair next to him and sat down, Peeta next to her, hand gripped tightly in his larger one.  They’d sit with him through the night, holding vigil because it was the only thing she knew how to do.  One would think, as much death as she’d experienced, she’d be better at dealing with it.  Whatever spark that had made up Haymitch was long gone, leaving only the shell behind.

 

The long hours between midnight and dawn had been the hardest, but Peeta was there, talking with her, telling her the things he could remember about Haymitch from his youth.  It was amazing that he could remember as much as he did, after all that Snow did to destroy him, but it was a testament to how much he’d wanted to live that he’d been able to forge new pathways to the memories and find the person that he was.  The man he’d become.

 

A quiet knock drew her attention and she looked up to see Peeta standing in the doorway, smiling at her.  He was wearing a pair of grey trousers and a white dress shirt, his tie a startling blue that rivaled his eyes. His hair was too long again, and it fell over his forehead in a soft wave that had her smiling, reminding her that life moved on, despite the pain. Taking a deep breath, she closed the distance between them, threading their fingers together.  It was time.  Time to say goodbye to the man who’d believed in them both, and helped them grow into who they were today.


End file.
